Florida Gators Head Coach Jon Sumrall Visits Top Quarterback Recruit

Florida continues to show early interest in 2027 quarterback Wonderful “Champ” Monds IV as Jon Sumrall and his staff make a high-profile recruiting stop.

Vero Beach’s quarterback Champ Monds (7) runs the ball in a high school football game against Buchholz, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024, at the Citrus Bowl Stadium in Vero Beach. Buchholz won 38-23. | KAILA JONES /TCPALM / USA TODAY NETWORK

Florida Gators head coach Jon Sumrall’s recent efforts on the recruiting trail suggest he’s trying to drag Florida back into heavyweight conversations.

With top-tier programs like Ohio State and Notre Dame recently making trips to Vero Beach High School to visit four-star quarterback recruit Wonderful “Champ” Monds IV, Florida has been the latest program to follow suit in courting the highly touted signal-caller.

According to a post on Monds IV’s personal X account, Sumrall and Gators quarterbacks coach Joe Craddock paid him a visit Wednesday morning.

Had a great time with @CoachJonSumrall and @CoachCraddock! #GoGators pic.twitter.com/1wqng5bsRm

— Wonderful “Champ” Monds IV (@champmonds) January 21, 2026

Before reclassifying to the class of 2027, he was a consensus five-star prospect andOn3Sports' highest-ranked quarterback in the class of 2028, and the No.2 overall prospect in the class.

Now, the 6-foot-2, 224-pound 15-year-old is the 17th-highest-rated quarterback and the 27th-highest-rated player in the state of Florida for the class of 2027, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Monds IV is also expected to head up to Gainesville for a visit this weekend, which would make it the second time he is personally interacted with Florida's staff this week.

Besides Florida, he is also being heavily recruited from programs like Ohio State, Miami, Notre Dame, Ole Miss and Michigan.

Through two high school seasons, the Vero Beach native has thrown for 2,925 yards and 30 touchdowns while completing 68.3% of his passes. He's also made magic happen with his legs, rushing for 533 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging 3.5 yards per carry.

Monds IV appeared in just five games while being limited to injury, throwing for 691 passing yards and seven touchdowns. Vero Beach reached the 7A State Championship Game last season, before ultimately losing to Lake Mary High School on the final play of the game.

If he were to commit to Florida, the junior would be the Gators' first pledge in the class of 2027. Monds IV isn't the only top quarterback on Florida's radar, with class of 2027 No.1 quarterback Elijah Haven naming the Gators in his most recent top-four list, alongside four other SEC programs.

🚨NEWS🚨 5-star QB Elijah Haven is down to Auburn, Florida, Georgia and Alabama, @Hayesfawcett3 reports🎯

Read: https://t.co/3Z4AJQsFTk pic.twitter.com/BqTDaO3ixc

— Rivals (@Rivals) January 16, 2026

In the most recent recruiting class, Florida signed four-star Jesuit High School quarterback Will Griffin, who was rated as the 17th-best quarterback and 35th-best player in Florida for the class of 2026.

Florida also recently signed Georgia Tech transfer quarterback Aaron Philo, who is expected to take over as the Gators' starter after the departure of former starting quarterback DJ Lagway.